Do the Red Sox have a chance? I have to say that I think they do. Derek Lowe has a real good shot at being the MVP of this series if he can win Saturday and then come in relief in Game 5. What I'd do is have John Burkett start Game 4 but have Tim Wakefield or Bronson Arroyo warming up in the bullpen with him. It's one thing to show confidence in Burkett by starting him in a must-win situation; it's quite another to throw him out there with no safety net. If he gets through the first few innings OK, he'll be fine for the rest of his outing. Then Wakefield, Arroyo and Lowe can be relief men for Pedro in Game 5. It's a long shot, but I think the Red Sox can do it. Opinions, comments?

Sometimes I ask myself why I watch WWE after all the crap it's given me. HLA, necro, HHH, and so on. And then it hits me. That one simple phrase that can be modified and used for anything that gets you down, yet makes you keep coming back.

Every episode has the potential to be the best one ever, and I'll be damned if I'm going to miss it after sitting through this shit.

Sure they have a chance. That's why they play the games. But realistically, the chances of the Sox winning three straight from the A's would have to be somewhere around 10%. But hey, it's not 0% until the A's have won three games and they've shown before they can lose decisive games!

Or in a worse case scenario, Derek Lowe could take 2 losses in a 3-game series. I think the Sox can do it, but they can't let Oakland score the first run of the game tonight. That could totally deflate them.

I'd have to vote no, not because the BoSox lost the first two games, but how they lost them. That game 1 loss was just soul-sucking, and you could tell from how they performed in game 2. If Boston has their heads back on straight, they might have a shot, but I don't think that they have the pitching or the managing to get back into this series. A's in four at most.

"When this bogus term alternative rock was being thrown at every '70s retro rehash folk group, we were challenging people to new sonic ideas. If some little snotty anarchist with an Apple Mac and an attitude thinks he invented dance music and the big rock group is coming into his territory, [that's] ridiculous." - Bono, 1997

All I ask for at this point is to get to the bottom of the 1st inning of Game 4 down less than 2-0. If they can avoid a Burkett first inning calamity, I think they can beat Hudson on 3 days, and I'll take my chances with Pedro in a Game 5 against Zito on 3 days rest.

WWF/E programming use to bring large numbers to UPN, but its viewership has been slipping as of late (Show Summary By Zap2IT). Of course, its all an internet lie.

After the way we won this game, I can't see the A's rebounding to win Game 4. That having been said, Pedro on regular rest vs. Barry Zito on short rest, advantage Red Sox.

EDIT: My 500th post? Why do I still feel like a drifting moron who doesn't say anything of consequence?

(edited by gugs on 6.10.03 0220)Sometimes I ask myself why I watch WWE after all the crap it's given me. HLA, necro, HHH, and so on. And then it hits me. That one simple phrase that can be modified and used for anything that gets you down, yet makes you keep coming back.

Every episode has the potential to be the best one ever, and I'll be damned if I'm going to miss it after sitting through this shit.

With the umpires doing their best to take away runs from THe A's at any opportunity. There's no stopping the Red Sox... The Red Sox third baseman obstructed Tejada on his way home, was signaled as such but then Tajada still allowed to get tagged?

A's made 3 errors in one inning. That's like 6 outs for Boston and they still only mustard 1 run.

Oakland should have but Boston away tonight. Everything went BoSox way tonight.

Originally posted by Net Hack SlasherWith the umpires doing their best to take away runs from THe A's at any opportunity. There's no stopping the Red Sox... The Red Sox third baseman obstructed Tejada on his way home, was signaled as such but then Tajada still allowed to get tagged?

A's made 3 errors in one inning. That's like 6 outs for Boston and they still only mustard 1 run.

Oakland should have but Boston away tonight. Everything went BoSox way tonight.

Note to A's Baserunners: In order to score a run, you have to touch home plate.

In the second inning call when the A's 3rd baseman obstructed the Red Sox runner from getting to 3rd base, they should've just awarded the Sox just that 3rd base and not home plate as well. That run was a gift.

In the 6th, Byrnes collided with Varitek, catchers are allowed to obstruct the basepath. Yet Byrnes knocked the ball loose and never touched home. He instead chose to push Varitek and limp back to the dugout...cost them a run.

Again, when Tejada collided with the Mueller, the collision wasn't that serious and may not have been intentional. Tejada chose to stop running in between 3rd and home and argue with the umpires and point fingers. If he had continued the play, he would have scored anyway. He wanted to argue with the umps to give him a run instead of trying to score himself. Cost himself a run. Whatever happened to running the bases?

Note to A's Baserunners: In order to score a run, you have to touch home plate.

Somehow, that fact got lost on them.

In the second inning call when the A's 3rd baseman obstructed the Red Sox runner from getting to 3rd base, they should've just awarded the Sox just that 3rd base and not home plate as well. That run was a gift.

You could argue that. I believe the rule is that if the runner is interfered with in a rundown like that, he gets awarded the next base. I could be wrong on that one though.

In the 6th, Byrnes collided with Varitek, catchers are allowed to obstruct the basepath. Yet Byrnes knocked the ball loose and never touched home. He instead chose to push Varitek and limp back to the dugout...cost them a run.

And when Byrnes pusked Tek, he should've been automatically out and the A's runners would'nt have advanced. Instead they got the out but the runners got to 2nd and 3rd. The next batter was walked then the next batter after got the hit that started the Tejada incident.

Again, when Tejada collided with the Mueller, the collision wasn't that serious and may not have been intentional. Tejada chose to stop running in between 3rd and home and argue with the umpires and point fingers. If he had continued the play, he would have scored anyway. He wanted to argue with the umps to give him a run instead of trying to score himself. Cost himself a run. Whatever happened to running the bases?

The judgement was that Mueller was going to cover 3rd for a possible force-out. The fielder also has the right to go over to cover the base for a possible play. And yes, Tejada should've kept running.

"Deep down, we worry that our lives will pass us by without ever seeing the Red Sox win a World Series ... which is what this whole thing is really about in the first place. That's why Red Sox fans are so insanely passionate about our team. We're haunted by the possibility of living an entire lifetime -- 80-90 years, followed by death -- without celebrating a World Series title. That's not a curse; it's an imaginary guillotine that hangs over us every season. We're just waiting for it to go away, that's all.

That's pretty simple, isn't it? Well, it's true. I have made thousands of arguments in this column -- some of them good, some of them bad, some of them insane -- and feel more strongly about the above paragraph than anything else. Blaming Babe Ruth's ghost for 85 years of failure makes for a cute story, and as WEEI's Gerry Callahan likes to joke, the premise put Dan Shaughnessy's kids through college. But it's not true. It's a myth kept alive by writers, columnists, talk show hosts and producers of slanted documentaries for HBO. The only "curse" is that the media keeps bringing it up.

But plenty of sports fans battle similar demons, don't they? What about Cubs fans closing in on the 100-year mark? What about Bills fans losing those four straight Super Bowls, including the horror of the Norwood Game? What about Browns fans losing their team, for God's sake? Who's more tortured than Maple Leaf fans? You think Astros fans have had tons of fun over the past four decades? You think the Bengals and Cavs have been laughing it up?".....ESPN.com's Bill Simmons

Originally posted by darkdragoonsure, the A's seem to be falling into their usual pattern and the Sox CAN pull it out...

what was the thing with Kim, BTW, did he flip somebody off or something?

Crowd boo'ed Kim during the introductions (much as they did to the bullpen at the home opener in April. My, nothing has changed), and he pulled a Blackjack McDowell and flipped off the crowd. For some reason, I don't believe Kim will still be in Boston come spring training.

WWF/E programming use to bring large numbers to UPN, but its viewership has been slipping as of late (Show Summary By Zap2IT). Of course, its all an internet lie.

Originally posted by darkdragoonsure, the A's seem to be falling into their usual pattern and the Sox CAN pull it out...

what was the thing with Kim, BTW, did he flip somebody off or something?

Crowd boo'ed Kim during the introductions (much as they did to the bullpen at the home opener in April. My, nothing has changed), and he pulled a Blackjack McDowell and flipped off the crowd. For some reason, I don't believe Kim will still be in Boston come spring training.

I doubt Theo will ship him out because of that. Kim just needs to develop his control more. He does have some good stuff when he's on, plus he is only 24 years old. I think next year he should go into the starting rotation and let Williamson be the closer.

"Deep down, we worry that our lives will pass us by without ever seeing the Red Sox win a World Series ... which is what this whole thing is really about in the first place. That's why Red Sox fans are so insanely passionate about our team. We're haunted by the possibility of living an entire lifetime -- 80-90 years, followed by death -- without celebrating a World Series title. That's not a curse; it's an imaginary guillotine that hangs over us every season. We're just waiting for it to go away, that's all.

That's pretty simple, isn't it? Well, it's true. I have made thousands of arguments in this column -- some of them good, some of them bad, some of them insane -- and feel more strongly about the above paragraph than anything else. Blaming Babe Ruth's ghost for 85 years of failure makes for a cute story, and as WEEI's Gerry Callahan likes to joke, the premise put Dan Shaughnessy's kids through college. But it's not true. It's a myth kept alive by writers, columnists, talk show hosts and producers of slanted documentaries for HBO. The only "curse" is that the media keeps bringing it up.

But plenty of sports fans battle similar demons, don't they? What about Cubs fans closing in on the 100-year mark? What about Bills fans losing those four straight Super Bowls, including the horror of the Norwood Game? What about Browns fans losing their team, for God's sake? Who's more tortured than Maple Leaf fans? You think Astros fans have had tons of fun over the past four decades? You think the Bengals and Cavs have been laughing it up?".....ESPN.com's Bill Simmons

Originally posted by gugsAfter the way we won this game, I can't see the A's rebounding to win Game 4. That having been said, Pedro on regular rest vs. Barry Zito on short rest, advantage Red Sox.

Barry Zito is only on about 12 hours less rest than Pedro, will be at home, and didn't have to throw 130 pitches in his last start. The A's have the advantage there BUT if it does get back to a game five, the Sox have all the momentum, I think that's the only advantage they have. And until the A's win 3, I'm not taking anything...it's only been two short years since my boys gave the Yankees the LDS right back after winning the first 2.

Let me say this: Pedro is Pedro. Has there ever been a playoff game, or any absolute must-have game where we've sent out Pedro to do anything and he hasn't? Meanwhile, the A's have three straight years of failure in this exact situation hanging over them. Even though it's in Oakland, I think the Sox will pull this one out.

Sometimes I ask myself why I watch WWE after all the crap it's given me. HLA, necro, HHH, and so on. And then it hits me. That one simple phrase that can be modified and used for anything that gets you down, yet makes you keep coming back.

Every episode has the potential to be the best one ever, and I'll be damned if I'm going to miss it after sitting through this shit.

I'll take Pedro over Zito any day, and our bats over Oakland's. I'm looking for a Sox/Yankees AL Championship.

Thank you Nomar Garciaparra for the wallball hit. Thank you Manny Ramirez for the 2-out hit. Thank you Mike Cubbage for not sending Nomar. Thank you to the entire Red Sox bullpen (and Tim Wakefield but not Derek Lowe) for 9 2/3 scoreless innings (except Derek Lowe). Big ups to John Burkett for giving us what we needed: at least five innings, keeping us in the game. This is gonna be nuts. Everybody except Burkett and maybe Wakefield is available tomorrow, Wakefield or Lowe can start Game 1 of the ALCS, the other in Game 2, Pedro in Game 3, then Burkett for Game 4 and we're rolling!

Sometimes I ask myself why I watch WWE after all the crap it's given me. HLA, necro, HHH, and so on. And then it hits me. That one simple phrase that can be modified and used for anything that gets you down, yet makes you keep coming back.

Every episode has the potential to be the best one ever, and I'll be damned if I'm going to miss it after sitting through this shit.

Originally posted by darkdragoonsure, the A's seem to be falling into their usual pattern and the Sox CAN pull it out...

what was the thing with Kim, BTW, did he flip somebody off or something?

Crowd boo'ed Kim during the introductions (much as they did to the bullpen at the home opener in April. My, nothing has changed), and he pulled a Blackjack McDowell and flipped off the crowd. For some reason, I don't believe Kim will still be in Boston come spring training.

Hey, they wanted him to show more emotion...and yeah i think he'll still in the "let some other team develop him" dept. Depending on if Villareal's arm falls off etc., we probably should not have dealt him so quickly...